Good Things in Small Packages: Exploring Japan's PCB Industry

摘要

A review of Japan's PWB Expo leaves little doubt where the real innovation is taking place in our industry. Plus, an interview with Japanese PCB giant CMK, which grossed over $1 billion in revenues last year, reveals its 2006 technical roadmap. The Japanese have a saying: "Fall seven times, stand up eight." This proverb might describe Japan's once-struggling PCB industry, which a few years ago suffered from a lackluster domestic economy and increasingly sophisticated rivals in Korea and Taiwan. But the land of the rising sun has stormed back to take the lead in technical innovation, producing about $10.2 billion worth of PCBs in 2005.